Integrating Nanostructures with Biological Structures
Investigators: M. Stroscio, ECE and BioE; M. Dutta, ECE
Prime Grant Support: ARO, NSF, AFOSR, SRC, DARPA, DHS
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Coupling manmade nanostructures with biological
structures to monitor and control biological
processes.
• For underlying concepts see Biological
Nanostructures and Applications of Nanostructures
in Biology: Electrical, Mechanical, & Optical
Properties, edited by Michael A. Stroscio and Mitra
Dutta (Kluwer, New York, 2004).
Technical Approach
• Synthesis of nanostructures
• Binding nanostructures to manmade structures
• Modeling electrical, optical and mechanical
properties of nanostructures
• Experimental characterization of intergated manmade
nanostructure-biological structures
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Numerous manmade nanostructures have been
functionalized with biomolecules
• Nanostructure-biomolecule complexes have been used
to study a variety of biological structures including cells
• Interactions between nanostructures with biomolecules
and with biological environments have been modeled for
a wide variety of systems
• Ultimate goal is controlling biological systems at the
nanoscale
Real-Time Distributed Multiple Object Tracking
Investigators: Dan Schonfeld, ECE; Wei Qu, ECE; Nidhal Bouaynaya, ECE
Prime Grant Support: Motorola, Inc., NeoMagic Corp.
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Video Surveillance (Activity Monitoring)
• Video Communications (Virtual Background)
• Video Enhancement (Handheld Camera Quality)
• Video Animation (Virtual Conference Room)
• Video Steroegraphy (3D from a Single Camera)
• Video Retrieval (Visual Search Engine)
Technical Approach
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Particle Filter
• Magnetic-Intertia Model
• Real-Time (No Offline Processing Required)
• Motion Proposal
• Interactive Distributed Model
• Very Fast (Few Particles Required)
• Detection Proposal
• Mixture Hidden Markov Model
• Low-Power (Embedded Processors)
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• Video Stabilization (Handheld & Vehicle Vibrations)
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zt2
• Video Auto-Focus (Fixed Lens Camera)
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.
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• Multiple Camera Tracking (Information Fusion)
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• Complete Occlusion (Hidden Targets)
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• Randomly Perturbed Active Surfaces (Robust Contour)
Program Control Flow Protection for Cyber Trust
Investigators: Gyungho Lee, ECE department
Prime Grant Support: NSF (ITR 0242222)
Problem Statement and Motivation
•
Major Cyber Attacks:
divert program control flow to start a
behavior the attacker wants
•
Behavior Blocking via control flow protection
How to incorporate behavior blocking into
existing cyber infrastructure based on flat
memory model and weak type checking without
compromising programming flexibility
Technical Approach
• Program Counter (PC) encoding
all function pointers are encoded at compile or link time
And decoded at run time just before loading into PC
• Function Pointers
•RET address in stack
•Non-local jumps, e.g setjmp() & longjmp()
•Virtual function pointers
•Shared library vector table entry, etc.
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Hardened Linux and its utilities with PC-encoding
at compile time tested and installed
•Known to prevent all 20 potential buffer overflow
attack types with little performance penalty
• Future
works
Efficacy:
Performance Effects and Attack Coverage
Alternative Implementation:
At Dynamic Linking and/or At Micro-Architecture
Next-Generation Power Electronics
Investigator: Sudip K. Mazumder, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Prime Grant Support: NSF, DOE (SECA and I&I), PNNL, CEC, NASA, Ceramatec, Airforce (award pending), TI, Altera
Problem Statement and Motivation
• To achieve reliable interactive power-electronics networks
• To design and develop power-management electronics for
residential and vehicular applications of renewable/alternate
energy sources (e.g., fuel and photovoltaic cells)
• To achieve higher power density and realize systems on chip
Technical Approach
• Stability and Stabilization of Power-Electronics Networks:
a) Global stability analysis of stochastic and functional hybrid system
b) Stabilization using wireless networked control
• Optimal Fuel Cell based Stationary and Vehicular Energy
Systems
a) Resolving interactions among energy source (such as fuel cells),
power electronics, and balance of plant.
b) Fuel-cell power-electronics inverter design that simultaneously meet
criteria of cost, durability, and energy efficiency
• Robust and efficient power devices and smart power ASIC
a) High-speed, EMI immune, wide-bandgap power devices
b) Integration of low- and high-voltage electronics on the same chip
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• First, wireless distributed control dc/dc and multiphase
converters and three-phase induction motor control
• First, zero-ripple, multilevel, energy-efficient fuel cell inverter
• First, photonically-triggered power transistor design for power
electronics
• First, nonlinear VRM controller for next-generation Pentium
processors
• Comprehensive solid-oxide-fuel-cell (SOFC) spatio-temporal
system model
MURI: Analysis and design of ultrawide-band and high-power microwave pulse
interactions with electronic circuits and systems
Investigators: P.L.E. Uslenghi (P.I.), S. Dutt, D. Erricolo, H-.Y. D. Yang, ECE
in collaboration with Clemson University, Houston University, Ohio State University, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan
Prime Grant Support: AFOSR
Problem Statement and Motivation
High Power EM fields
E
Puls
er
• Understand and predict the effects of the
new electromagnetic threat represented
by high power microwave (HPM) and ultrawide
band (UWB) pulses on digital electronic
systems found inside fixed or moving
platforms.
H
External EM Source
(Impulse Radiating Antenna)
Illuminated target
Technical Approach
• Develop recommendations for performing
field tests/measurements
Key Achievements and Future Goals
•Apply electromagnetic topology to predict
the effects of HPM/UWB aggressor signals
• Fast computer codes are under
development at UH, UIUC, UM and OSU.
•Apply recently developed fast and accurate
computer simulation tools.
• Topology studies are underway at CU.
Analysis of devices and of processor faults
are being conducted at CU and UIC.
•Further extend the capabilities of the
computer simulation tools to obtain a better
understanding of the overall problem.
• Validation tests for codes are being
developed at CU, OSU, and UIC.
Neural Dynamic Programming for Automotive Engine Control
Investigator: Derong Liu, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Prime Grant Support: National Science Foundation and General Motors
Computational Intelligence Laboratory
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Automobile emissions are a major source of pollution
• Exhaust air-to-fuel ratio control to reduce emission
• Engine torque control to improve driveability
• On-board learning to deal with vehicle aging effects
• Reduced emissions - Environmental benefit
• Better fuel efficiency - Economic benefit
Technical Approach
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Dynamic programming minimizes a cost function
• Self-learning controller for better transient torque
• Neural network approximation of the cost function
• Self-learning controller for tighter air-to-fuel ratio
• Neural network controller to minimize the cost function
• Neural network modeling of automotive engines
• Approximate optimal control/dynamic programming
• Neural network modeling of several engine components
• Initial controller will be trained off-line using data
• Other potential application: Engine diagnostics
• Controller is further refined through on-line learning
• Short term goal: Collaborate with industry
• Controller performance is improved with experience
• Long term goal: Implement our algorithms in GM cars
MURI: Adaptive waveform design for full spectral dominance
Investigators: Arye Nehorai (P.I.) and Danilo Erricolo, ECE
Co-P.I.’s with Arizona State University, Harvard University, Princeton University,
Purdue University, University of Maryland, University of Melbourne, and Raytheon
Prime Grant Support: AFOSR
Problem Statement and Motivation
Block diagram of adaptive waveform design.
Technical Approach
• Developing waveform design methods that
exploit both existing and new forms of diversities.
• Modeling the environment and channel to extract
the attributes needed to adaptively choose the
optimal waveforms.
• Optimizing the choice of the waveform by
introducing cost functions adapted to the channel
and/or environment.
• Verifying the applicability of our results by testing
and implementing the new waveform designs in
complex realistic environments using an anechoic
chamber and radar tower test-bed facilities.
• The current state of the channel spectral occupancy can
have a profound effect on the choice of waveform to
achieve optimal communication and sensing performance.
• Transmitted waveforms not optimally matched to the
operational scenario, may severely limit the performance.
• Recent advances in information processing and related
hardware have opened the way to exploit characteristics of
the transmitted waveforms that will have tremendous
impact on the performance of communication and sensing
systems.
Future Goals
• Develop unifying perspectives on waveform
design and diversity that cross-cut both sensing and
communication applications.
• Ensure the best ideas for waveform design in
communications are appropriately manifested in
sensing and vice versa.
• Demonstrate the potential of waveform scheduling
and diversity enabled by recent technological
advances, such as agile software-driven digital
modulators, through experiments with real data.
Energy-Efficient Design for Wireless Networks
Investigator: Yingwei Yao, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Prime Grant Support: None
Problem Statement and Motivation
• High data rate and bursty nature of data traffic in
future wireless networks
• Limited resources (energy budgets and processing
capabilities) of many mobile devices
• Harsh wireless communication channels subject to
fading, shadowing, and interference
• Novel protocols are needed to support bursty, high
data rate traffic that are both energy-efficient and robust
against various channel impairments
Technical Approach
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• A cross-layer design approach to exploit the interdependencies among different layers of the protocol
stack.
• We have developed an energy efficient scheduling
scheme. Utilizing channel information, it achieves over
85% energy savings compared with traditional TDMA.
• An energy efficiency perspective to evaluate the energy
consumption implications of various design options and
to develop communication protocols suitable for mobile
devices operating on tiny batteries.
• We have investigated the energy efficiency of various
user cooperative relay transmission protocols and
developed optimal resource allocation schemes.
• An optimization framework to develop resource
allocation schemes, which achieve the optimal system
throughput versus transmission cost tradeoff.
• We have developed an adaptive transmission scheme
for OFDM systems, which are robust against channel
estimation errors.
• We will develop novel protocols for wireless video
communication systems and wireless sensor networks.
Nano-magnetism and high-density magnetic memory
Vitali Metlushko, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Nanotechnology Core Facility (NCF)
Prime Grant Support: NSF ECS grant # ECS-0202780, Antidot and Ring Arrays for Magnetic Storage Applications
and
NSF NIRT grant # DMR-0210519 : Formation and Properties of Spin-Polarized Quantum Dots in Magnetic
Semiconductors by Controlled Variation of Magnetic Fields on the Nanoscale, B. Janko (P.I.), J. K. Furdyna (co-P.I.),
M. Dobrowolska (co-P.I.), University of Notre Dame is leading organization, A. M. Chang (Purdue) and V. Metlushko,
(UIC)
Lorentz image of
magnetic nanostructure.
UIC’s Nanoscale Core Facility
SEM
image
of
700nm
MRAM
cells.
Problem Statement and Motivation
The field of nanoelectronics is overwhelmingly
dedicated to the exploitation of the behavior of electrons
in electric fields. Materials employed are nearly always
semiconductor-based, such as Si or GaAs, and other
related dielectric and conducting materials. An
emerging basis for nanoelectronic systems is that of
magnetic materials. In the form of magnetic random
access memories (MRAM), nanoscale magnetic
structures offer fascinating opportunities for the
development of low-power and nonvolatile memory
elements.
Technical Approach
Key Achievements and Future Goals
In past few years, the interest in nano-magnetism has
encreased rapidly because they offer potential
application in MRAM. Modern fabrication techniques
allow us to place the magnetic elements so close
together that element-element interactions compete with
single-element energies and can lead to totally different
switching dynamics. To visualize the magnetization
reversal process in individual nano-magnets as well as in
high-density arrays, Metlushko and his co-authors
employed several different imaging techniques- magnetic
force microscopy (MFM), scanning Hall microscopy,
magneto-optical (MO) microscopy, SEMPA and Lorentz
microscopy (LM).
•This project has led to
collaboration with MSD, CNM
and APS ANL, Katholieke
Univesiteit Leuven, Belgium,
University of Notre Dame, NIST,
Universita` di Ferrara, Italy, InterUniversity
Micro-Electronics
Center (IMEC), Belgium, Cornell
University, McGill University and
University of Alberta, Canada
•During the past 3 years this
NSF-supported work resulted in
21 articles in refereed journals
already published and 10 invited
talks in the US, Europe and
Japan.
Human Activity Scripts and Queries for Video Databases
Principal Investigator: Jezekiel Ben-Arie, ECE Dept.
Prime Grant Support: NSF
Problem Statement and Motivation
.
This project is focused on the development of methods
and interactive tools that enable efficient querying,
recognition and retrieval of video clips in a video
database of human motion. Natural and symbolic
languages are not suited to accurately describe human
motion.
Key Achievements and Future Goals
.
An Example of a query composition of human activity
along a trajectory. The humanoid then animates it for
visual feedback.
Technical Approach
Our Approach: is to represent human motion by novel
temporal scripts that define the 3D pose and velocity of
important body parts. The human body is represented by
an hierarchic structure. This enables not only efficient
representation but also robust recognition from any
viewpoint. The user is also allowed to interactively
compose practically any desired motion query and to
view it.
An innovative method for human motion Recognition
by Indexing and Sequencing (RISq) was developed.
The RISq requires only few video samples. An
interactive GUI based tool for composing articulated
human motion was also established.
This project has also broader Impacts. Since our
interactive-graphic approach does not require reading
or writing, it could be also applied to enhance the
creativity and educational participation of groups such
as children in authoring animated plays and movies.
Our future goals is to extend the range of activities and
the number of persons that can be composed. We are
also extending our activity recognition system –RISq
(which is currently patent pending) to include speech
and object recognition.
Efficient Visual Tracking
Investigators: Rashid Ansari, ECE; Ashfaq Khokhar, ECE/CS
Prime Grant Support: NSF, U.S. Army
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Real-time visual tracking is important in automated video
scene understanding for applications such as surveillance,
compression, and vision-based user interfaces
• Visual Tracking: Locate moving objects from visual cues.
• Low computation complexity (Real-time requirement)
• Tracking rapid motion, in presence of occlusion (self and
foreign-body)
• Tracking multiple objects using multiple cues
• High dimensionality (articulated human body tracking)
Technical Approach
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Combine particle filtering with efficiency of mean shift
tracker.
• Real-time tracking with improved efficiency compared
with the standard particle filter-based tracker by 20-40%.
• New formulation of visual tracking in a set theoretic
framework.
• Improved performance with robust tracking under rapid
motion
• Graphical models (Markov Random Field and
Bayesian Network) provide high-level modeling for
single object and multiple object tracking in highdimensional spaces.
• Handles partial occlusion and short-time full-occlusion
• Naturally extends from single to multiple object tracking
• Convenient fusion of multiple cues (no pre-adjustment
of tracker needed). Easy incorporation of additional cues.
• Application in foveated video compression and event
recognition in scenes will be investigated
ISOGA: Integrated Services Optical Grid Architecture
Investigator: Oliver Yu, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Prime Grant Support: DOE, NSF
Cluster
All-optical
LAN
On-demand Lightpath (10 Gbps)
Chicago
StarLight
Amsterdam
NetherLight
ISON
PIN
UIC
Cluster
All-optical
LAN
ISON
All-optical
MAN
PIN
Cluster
University of
Amsterdam
ISON
PIN
Chicago
OMNInet
Technical Approach
• Photonic Inter-domain Negotiator (PIN) is developed to
support the Multi-domain Lambda Grid. It provides an
open secure inter-domain control plane to interoperate
multiple optical network domains with non-compatible
signaling and routing functions.
• Integrated Services Optical Network (ISON) is
developed to support the Multi-purpose Lambda Grid. It
provides multiple traffic transport services: Gigabit-rate
stream (single lambda per application); Kilo/Megabit-rate
stream (multiple applications per lambda); Tera/Petabitrate stream (multiple lambdas per application); and
variable bit rate bursty traffic.
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Lambda Grid reserves lightpaths or lambdas of light
(10 Gbps transport capacity) among a distributed
collection of data, computing, visualization and
instrumentation resources that are integrated to provide
collaborative capability to end users.
• To support a Multi-domain Lambda Grid with ondemand lightpath provisioning over multiple optical
network domains with heterogeneous control planes.
• To support e a Multi-purpose Lambda Grid for
multidisciplinary collaborative applications.
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Publication
• O. Yu, “Intercarrier Interdomain Control Plane for Global Optical
Networks,” in Proc. IEEE ICC, June 2004.
• O. Yu, T. DeFanti, “Collaborative User-centric Lambda-Grid over
Wavelength-Routed Network,” in Proc. IEEE/ASM SC 2004, Nov. 2004.
• Three journal papers has been submitted to IEEE/OSA Journal of
Lightwave Technology.
• Demonstration
• Through collaboration with University of Amsterdam, on-demand
lightpath provisioning was demonstrated over Lambda Grid between
Chicago & Amsterdam in SC 2003, November 2003.
• Future Goals
• Extend multi-domain and multi-purpose Lambda Grid with photonic
multicast capability by splitting incoming light into multiple outputs.
• Demonstrate the new prototype in iGrid 2005 symposium at San Diego.
Multiferroic Thin Films Grown by MBE
Investigators: Siddhartha Ghosh Prime Grant Support: Office of Naval Research
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Frequency tunable microwave devices
• Magnetoelectric thin films
• Multiferroism in multilayered heterostructures
• Advanced RADAR arrays for Navy
• Spintronics
Key Achievements and Future Goals
RF Plasma Assisted Oxide MBE System
Technical Approach
• RF Plasma assisted complex oxide epitaxial
growth on oxide and semiconductor substrates
• Alternate piezoelectric and magnetostrictive
layers provide mechanical coupling between
the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic thin films
• Atomically smooth interfaces
• First reported MBE growth of multiferroic
layers by RF Plasma oxygen source
• Research on controlling thin film interfaces
is underway
• Collaboration has been established with
Argonne National Labs and Center for
Nanoscale Materials
• Discussion for collaboration with Naval
Research Laboratory has been initiated
Preservation and Protection of Online Multimedia Contents
Investigators: Ashfaq Khokhar and Rashid Ansari
Multimedia Systems Lab. (http://multimedia.ece.uic.edu)
Prime Grant Support: National Science Foundation
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Emergence of peer to peer networks and increased interest
in online sharing poses challenges for preserving and
protecting online digital repositories.
• Existing efforts are mostly focused on text data. Research
challenges are amplified when the contents are multimedia –
just re-sampling of voice or image data, which is difficult to
detect, compromises the authentication and validation.
• Developing multimedia asset management tools and
distributed protocols that embed signatures, evaluate
authentication, and help perform recovery using copies at
peer nodes, if contents have been compromised.
Technical Approach
• Develop efficient watermarking techniques that can
imperceptibly embed information in the media
• Embedding capacity (#of bits embedded) of the proposed
techniques should be large and embedded information
should withstand different types of adversary attacks
including re-sampling, compression, noise,
desynchronization, etc. – exploit temporal and spatial
correlation in the multimedia data.
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Developed novel watermarking techniques that embed
information in selective frequency subbands. The
embedded information is 10-15 times more than existing
techniques and can withstand adversary attacks.
• Developed an Independent Component Analysis based
detector that can detect embedded information in the
presence of extreme noise (less than 1% error probability
even in the presence of 80% noise).
• Develop detection algorithms that can detect the
embedded information in the face of modifications and
other adversary attacks.
• Developing a comprehensive digital asset management
system using data hiding for fingerprinting and
authentication.
• Develop distributed protocols based on trust metrics to
recover modified contents
• Developing a suite of distributed protocols for content
validation and recovery in case of compromised data.
Tera-scale Integration of Semiconductor Nanocrystals
Investigators: M. Dutta, ECE; M. Stroscio,ECE and BioE
Prime Grant Support: ARO, NSF, AFOSR, SRC, DARPA
Problem Statement and Motivation
Au wire
CdS
• Future
electronic and optoelectronic
systems must be integrated on the
terascale and beyond
CdSe-ZnS
CdSe-ZnS-GGGC
Technical Approach
• Synthesis of semiconductor nanostructures
• Chemical self-assembly of semiconductor
nanostructures
• Modeling electrical, optical and mechanical
properties of ensembles of nanostructures
• Experimental characterization of massively integrated
networks of semiconductor nanostructures
•This research effort explores the use of
biomolecules as molecular interconnects
for such terascale systems
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Numerous manmade semiconducting nanostructures
have been synthesized
• Integrated semiconductor quantum dots have been
assembled chemically in the Nanoengineering Research
Laboratory at UIC
• Interactions between semiconductor nanostructures
and molecular wires have been modeled for a wide
variety of systems
• Untimate goal is massive integration of semiconductor
nanostructures in functional electronic and optoelectronic
networks
Compiling Software Applications to Reconfigurable
Hardware
Investigator: Prith Banerjee, ECE Department and Dean of Engineering
Grant Support: NASA
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Many signal and image processing applications can be
sped up by FPGA based reconfigurable hardware
• Major roadblock is design tools; need to develop
automated techniques to take software applications and
map them to FPGAs and SOCs
• Reduce design times from months to days
• Perform area-delay-power tradeoffs
• Reuse software for general processors, and migrate to
SOCs seamlessly
Technical Approach
• Compile applications to general purpose software
binaries using regular compilers
• Study techniques for automatic translation of software
binaries to RTL VHDL / Verilog for mapping to FPGAs on
reconfigurable hardware
• Investigate techniques for hardware/software co-design
at software binary level for reconfigurable hardware
• Develop prototype compiler for TI C6000 and ARM
processors and Xilinx Virtex II and Altera Stratix FPGAs
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Developed a preliminary software prototype called the
FREEDOM compiler
• Speedups of 3-20X reported on a Xilinx Virtex-II over a
TI C6000 DSP processor for several benchmarks
• Future work include development of high-level
synthesis techniques for area, delay and power tradeoffs
• Extensive benchmarking of real multimedia applications
• Results are being commercialized by BINACHIP
Incremental Placement and Routing Algorithms for FPGA and VLSI Circuits
VLSI CAD Flow:
Partitioning
Floorplanning
Investigators: Shantanu Dutt, Electrical & Computer Engr.
Prime Grant Support: National Science Foundation
Placement
Problem Statement and Motivation
Routing
Simulation
• Current and future very deep submicron chips are so
complex and minute that they need “corrections” or reoptimizations in small parts after initial design & simul.
• Need to keep the correct parts of the chip as intact as
possible – good resource usage, time-to-market req.
Incr. Place
e.g., for timing
closure
Technical Approach
• Use of a constraint-satisfying depth-first search
(DFS) process that explores the design space for the
incremental changes to:
• Optimize them (e.g., power, critical path, signal
integrity)
• Subject to not deteriorating metrics of the larger
unchanged chip beyond pre-set bounds (e.g., <=
10% increase in wire-length)
• Use of a new network-flow based methodology to
explore the design space in a more continuous manner
(as opposed to discrete in DFS) for faster solutions:
• Some approximations involved for discrete ->
continuous optimization mapping
• Need incremental CAD algorithms that re-do the
“incorrect” parts fast and w/o significant effect on the
correct parts
• This project focuses on such incremental algorithms at
the physical CAD or layout level of chip design –
placement & routing
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Incremental routing for FPGAs:
• optimal DFS algorithm wrt # of tracks– if a solution
exists will find it; 13 times faster than competitor VPR
• Incremental routing for VLSI ASICs:
• 98% success rate in completing routes – up to 9-12
times fewer failures than Std and R&R routers
• Timing-driven incremental routing for VLSI ASICs:
• 94% succ rate; 5 times fewer timing violations
• Incremental placement for VLSI ASICs:
• Prel results: applied to timing closure – 10% improv
• Future Work: (1) Apply to timing, power closure via logic &
circuit re-synthesis at the physical level + re-placement & rerouting; (2) Integration of incremental routing & placement
MicroOptoElectroMechanical Systems (MOEMS)
Investigators: A. Feinerman, ECE; C. Megaridis, MIE
Prime Grant Support: NASA, and DARPA
Problem Statement and Motivation
 Standard deformable structures rely on spindly
linkages to achieve the flexibility required for motion.
 Spindly structures are thermal insulators.
 Tethered liquid drops provide electrical, and thermal
conduction, as well as a restoring force/torque to mirror.
75 volts @ 300Hz with 35 mm actuation
Technical Approach
• tethered drops are super-deformable, large
displacements at low voltages are possible
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Achieved reproducible piston motion
• Achieved reproducible rotation
• drops can be tethered by patterning the wetting
properties of a surface
• Used technique to make variable reflection display
• precision dispensing of Hg drops
• Developing RF switch – liquids do not suffer from
stiction.
• self-alignment of ~50 mg mirrors.
Cardiac Sound Separation and Analysis
Investigators: Roland Priemer, ECE; Vivek Nigam , ECE
Prime Grant Support: Prakash Agarwal Foundation
Phonocardiogram Dissection
Mitral Component
Aortic Component
Hole
Apply blind source
separation algorithms to
isolate major delayed
components of the heart
sound.
Murmur
Tricuspid
Component
Background Noise
Pulmonary Component
Utilize dynamics of the
heart to detect and isolate
major heart sounds.
Background Noise
Aortic Component
Pulmonary Component
Mitral Component
Tricuspid Component
Statistically
Independent
Murmur
Primary auscultation sites.
Heart sound with a VSD
murmur.
Motivation, Problems and Goals
Motivation
Problems
Goals
Extract clinically relevant
features from isolated
heart sounds to perform
clinical diagnosis.
S4
Systolic Murmur Classification
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world.
One percent of all newborns have some sort of heart
dysfunction. The stethoscope is the most widely used frontline
instrument to detect heart dysfunction.
Ejection
Regurgitant
Ejection
Using the stethoscope requires extensive training .
Interpretation of the phonocardiogram can be subjective .
The phonocardiogram is a mixture of sounds with complexity
that makes it difficult to analyze for diagnosis of heart
dysfunctions .
Extract discrete heart sounds from the phonocardiogram and
develop algorithms for real-time analysis. Non-invasive, easy
to use and inexpensive apparatus. Automated support of
diagnosis of the separated sounds to classify dysfunctions.
S3
Ejection or
Regurgitant
Ejection or
Regurgitant
Simplicity based detection of heart
sounds. Top: Mitral stenosis murmur.
Bottom: Simplicity of mitral stenosis
murmur
Normal
Simplicity based classification of
systolic murmurs.
Processing along the way:
Channel Coding, Network Coding and Routing in networks
Investigator: Daniela Tuninetti, ECE-UIC
Problem Statement and Motivation
N
Destination
Source
N

N=1
Routing

N
Relay
N→+∞
Noiseless links
Technical Approach
• In networks, packets hop through several intermediate
nodes before reaching their destination.
• In today’s networks, channel coding, retransmission,
and routing are designed separately. Furthermore,
independent data streams are kept separated.
• However, the multicast capacity (even with noiseless
channels) is achieved only with Network Coding.
• We quantify the benefits of Network coding when the
relays are constrained to process blocks of finite length
of N symbols. However source and destination are
unconstrained in complexity.
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• We model the overall network between source and
destination as a single discrete memory-less channel.
• Depending on the noise level on the physical channels,
the optimal Network and Channel code are different.
• We compute the Shannon capacity of the channel,
hence we find the optimal channel code at the source.
• Linear Network codes with uniform independent
channel codes are optimal at low noise level.
• We optimize the Network codes at the relays, and
hence we determine the optimal route and the network
resource allocation.
• Non-linear Network codes with non-uniform repetition
channel codes are optimal at high noise level.
• We study achievable strategies based on errorexponent & worst-channel arguments (asymptotically
optimal for large block length N).
• Derive low-complexity asymptotically-optimal Network &
Channel code pairs.
• We study the limit for large number of hops and we
derive a connection with the zero-error capacity.
• Extend the analysis to large random networks.
• Extend to interference networks, like Ad-Hoc networks.
Teaching Sensorimotor Skills with Haptics
Investigators: Miloš Žefran, ECE; Matteo Corno, ECE; Maxim Kolesnikov, ECE
Prime Grant Support: NSF; UIC College of Dentistry
Problem Statement and Motivation
• New surgical procedures are introduced at a high rate.
Each requires costly training.
• Haptic simulators provide a cost-effective alternative
to traditional training: no need to travel, 24/7 availability,
easy to create additional units as needed.
• Existing paradigm for haptics is not suitable for
teaching sensorimotor skills. Lack of good models and
of realistic haptic rendering are main obstacles to
creating useful simulators.
Technical Approach
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Position and force information are simultaneously
displayed to facilitate motor skill acquisition. The user is
modeled as a three-input, single-output system.
• Developed a new paradigm for teaching of
sensorimotor skills with haptics.
• The model of the human enables stability analysis
through the Lyapunov second method; traditional
passivity techniques can not be used. Time delays are
critical for stability and are explicitly modeled.
• The Euclidean group SE(3) used to develop haptic
rendering algorithms that properly account for
translations and rotations. Kinetic energy provides an
intrinsic way to define the penetration which is in turn
used to compute the reaction force.
• Proposed a new model for a user responding to haptic
and visual stimuli. The model experimentally verified.
• Stability analysis of the system performed. Stability
boundaries explicitly identified.
• Implemented a new method for haptic rendering.
• Future work: applications in medical training, rehabilitation; faster implementation of the haptic rendering;
implementation on cheap haptic displays; extensions of
the new paradigm for collaborative haptics.
Memory System Optimizations for Multicore Processors
Investigators: Zhichun Zhu, ECE
Prime Grant Support: NSF
Problem Statement and Motivation
• Multicore, multithreaded processors have become
mainstream
•Can the memory systems handle so many threads,
simultaneously?
• Memory access scheduling must play a critical role in
overall performance
Technical Approach
•Processor-memory cooperation to maximize memory
bandwidth efficiency
•Active feedback from memory controller to adjust
multithreaded execution
• Thread co-scheduling to smooth out memory access
phases
• Optimizations on Multi-level cache hierarchy
management
Key Achievements and Future Goals
• Thread-aware memory scheduling for SMT processors
• New approaches to optimize multicore processor
performance
MURI: Adaptive waveform design for full spectral dominance
Investigators: Arye Nehorai (P.I.) and Danilo Erricolo, ECE
Co-P.I.’s with Arizona State University, Harvard University, Princeton University,
Purdue University, University of Maryland, University of Melbourne, and Raytheon
Prime Grant Support: AFOSR
Problem Statement and Motivation
Block diagram of adaptive waveform design.
Technical Approach
• Developing waveform design methods that
exploit both existing and new forms of diversities.
• Modeling the environment and channel to extract
the attributes needed to adaptively choose the
optimal waveforms.
• Optimizing the choice of the waveform by
introducing cost functions adapted to the channel
and/or environment.
• Verifying the applicability of our results by testing
and implementing the new waveform designs in
complex realistic environments using an anechoic
chamber and radar tower test-bed facilities.
• The current state of the channel spectral occupancy can
have a profound effect on the choice of waveform to
achieve optimal communication and sensing performance.
• Transmitted waveforms not optimally matched to the
operational scenario, may severely limit the performance.
• Recent advances in information processing and related
hardware have opened the way to exploit characteristics of
the transmitted waveforms that will have tremendous
impact on the performance of communication and sensing
systems.
Future Goals
• Develop unifying perspectives on waveform
design and diversity that cross-cut both sensing and
communication applications.
• Ensure the best ideas for waveform design in
communications are appropriately manifested in
sensing and vice versa.
• Demonstrate the potential of waveform scheduling
and diversity enabled by recent technological
advances, such as agile software-driven digital
modulators, through experiments with real data.